• 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 751  (3) , 321-331
Abstract
The relationship between the inhibition of cell growth and the changes in phospholipid metabolism in the presence of erucic acid was studied in Chinese hamster [lung fibroblast] V79-R cells. The addition of erucic acid to the medium inhibited cell growth. The degree of inhibition by erucic acid at a given concentration was dependent on cell density. Exogenous erucic acid was incorporated into cellular phospholipids to form new phospholipid molecular species, which were identified to be the erucoyl/oleoyl, erucoyl/gondoyl and erucoyl/erucoyl species. Synthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in endoplasmic reticulum was reduced by erucic acid. Erucic acid had no effect on membrane flow of phospholipids from endoplasmic reticulum to plasma membrane. The specific activity of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase in the membrane fraction from the cells supplemented with erucic acid was lower than that from the control cells. The reduction of phospholipid synthesis was attributed to the decrease in sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase activity.